THE FAMILY STONE

[The Other]

The Family Stone (2005)

http://movies.go.com/i/movies/628368/gallery/familystone_6.jpg

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson

Directed by: Thomas Bezucha

Produced by: Jennifer Ogden, Michael London, Mindy Marin

Genres: Family and Comedy

Running Time: 1 hr. 42 min.

Release Date: December 16th, 2005

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content including dialogue, and drug references.

Distributors: 20th Century Fox

http://movies.go.com/i/movies/628368/gallery/familystone_2.jpg

Plot Summary: The Stones, a New England family, have their annual holiday gathering. The eldest son brings his girlfriend home to meet his parents, brothers and sisters. The bohemian Stones greet their visitor--a high-powered, controlling New Yorker--with a mix of awkwardness, confusion and hostility. Before the holiday is over, relationships will unravel while new ones are formed, secrets will be revealed, and the family Stone will come together through its extraordinary capacity for love.

http://movies.go.com/i/movies/628368/gallery/familystone_12.jpg

[The Other]

Opens this week. Discuss!

[dman476]

I can only watch one film this week and most definately it is King Kong.
I have to study for finals (which I should be doing right now) but if I do have time to see a second film I'll probably watch the Producers.
This, I think, would be pretty nice to watch on Christmas, or in any case better than Munich (for X-Mas).

[Lazy Boy]

The ads and trailers for this have been Home for the Holidays-level bad, but I think that's a case of misrepresentation, since the reviews are warm.

[The Other]

I actually don't think it looks that bad. But, to me, it's probably more of a rental or something. I have so many other movies in theaters to catch up on right now...

[Cronos]

it looks like it could be fun and ive heard quite a lot of good stuff about it but itll have to be a rental for me

[moviegroupie]

i'll be seeing this and hopefully with some girls

[Sigur509]

I might check this out over christmas break. After I see King Kong for the second time, of couse.

[ilovemovies]

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
The ads and trailers for this have been Home for the Holidays-level bad, but I think that's a case of misrepresentation, since the reviews are warm.

Um, weren't the reviews for Home for the Holidays decent? I seem to recall so.

[The Other]

I actually enjoyed Home for the Holidays... for what it was, at least...

[TylerDurden182]

Looks horrible. Luke Wilson would be the only reason that I would even consider renting it when it comes out on DVD.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Looks bad. Hey, let's have characters slipping over food and getting covered in it as a way of bonding. WTF? Keaton and Parker seem to be playing the same characters as they always do. Gonna do my best to avoid it.

[dellamorte dellamore]

If this looks bad because of cheap , throwaway sight gags , then how does " manbreasts " , cursing babies , and animals screwing , sound ? Yep , Meet the Fokkers , which this one strains to be . Oh well , Fokkers was a letdown , so who knows , maybe this one will let me down just a bit less . I won't find out until dvd , if that . Parker should have stayed in the City .

[Lazy Boy]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
Um, weren't the reviews for Home for the Holidays decent? I seem to recall so.

I said this looks as bad as that movie, which I felt like tossing in the garbage after 15 minutes.

[Joshmo]

I already seen AND own this movie...its called

"Home for the Holidays"...feaures a much better cast

Charles Durning
Ann Bancroft
Holly Hunter
Robert Downy Jr

[ilovemovies]

And both movies share a cast member. Claire Danes is in both of them.


And Lazy Boy, I was comparing this movie's reviews to Home For the Holiday's reviews. I think they are pretty similar and you hated Home for the Holidays and the reviews for both are fairly similar.

[Lazy Boy]

Ah, gotcha.

[thedudeman69]

I thought it was a good movie. But it is more of a drama than a comedy but it has its laughs.

[darkface]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/twentieth_century_fox/the_family_stone/_group_photos/dermot_mulroney1.jpg

7/10

My wife said, "If you go see 'Family Stone' with me, I'll go see King Kong with you sunday." So I figured, why the hell not.
I was actually very surprised. It didn't start off good, but in the end I just felt it was a very well-rounded movie with a lot to offer.
I'm mostly generous because it is the holiday season, and I am already in that meet n' greet family mood.
Rachel McAdams played a terrific baby sister, and Sarah Parker played a sometimes annoying, but felt some sympathy for her type of gal. I don't think this is a movie for everyone, but it worked for me and that's all that matters. I would suggest it for anyone looking for a good holiday season type, definitely with a date, and really enjoy either Rachel McAdams or Luke Wilson, because they both played a great role.

[MadsenOMC]

SPOILERS!!!

This is a movie I fully expected to like, and wound up fucking hating. I am a big fan of Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Paul Schneider; Luke Wilson is usually fairly amusing and I adored Claire Danes in Shopgirl. That is a pretty damn good cast. But the movie is awful, save for a few decent moments. The two central romances are among the most contrived and unconvincing I have ever seen. First of all, Mulroney and Sarah Jessica Parker do not make a believable couple. Not for a second. What the fuck does he see in her? And why does she like him? She says he's a good guy, so I guess we have to take it on faith. But even more unbelievable are the pairings of Mulroney and Danes, and then Wilson and SJP. Wilson is a laid back, pot smoking documentary filmmaker living in Berkeley, and we're supposed to buy him liking SJP's uptight, spoiled bitch character? You've got to be joking. There isn't a chance in hell, and Bezucha doesn't even come close to making it seem remotely plausible. It simply isn't possible that those two like each other, much less fall in love. And it pissed me off. Add to that, Mulroney and Danes suddenly fall madly in love. Why? Because she likes her job and told him a moving story? And then why the hell does she like him? What does he do that impresses her so much? Nothing that I could see. Again, not believable for a single second. When the bus stops and she got out, I nearly puked all over the place. Fucking lame. SJP is a heinous bitch from start to finish. She is only tolerable when drunk, and that isn't saying much, cause she was still pretty annoying. The writing is weak. Too many cliches and way too predictable. It gets too sappy at times. None of the characters are well developed, and no one is even all that likeable, save for Wilson. There are a few effective family scenes, but overall, this is a massive piece of shit. I really expected a lot more out of this movie. Avoid like the plague.

3/10

[darkface]

Spoilers***

MadsenOMC,
I thought it helped that SJP and Dermot weren't that believable of a couple. It made it easier for them to break up in the end. Although I do agree that it's hard to belive Luke's character and SJP got together in the end. It would have been much better if they just stayed good friends. But it also doesn't necessarily say in the end that they're a solid couple, so it still leaves it open for your opinion.
It sounds like you weren't really into the mood for this movie.
I was generous w/ my grade only because the movie really worked for me on the first viewing. If I were to see it again, especially not around the holidays, then it wouldn't be as good.

[MadsenOMC]

Originally posted by darkface
Spoilers***
It sounds like you weren't really into the mood for this movie.
I

Why do you say that? I was totally in the mood for it. I really expected it to be a good flick. I went in expecting to like it. A major disappointment for me.

[The Heart Collector]

Originally posted by MadsenOMC
SPOILERS!!!

This is a movie I fully expected to like, and wound up fucking hating. I am a big fan of Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Paul Schneider; Luke Wilson is usually fairly amusing and I adored Claire Danes in Shopgirl. That is a pretty damn good cast. But the movie is awful, save for a few decent moments. The two central romances are among the most contrived and unconvincing I have ever seen. First of all, Mulroney and Sarah Jessica Parker do not make a believable couple. Not for a second. What the fuck does he see in her? And why does she like him? She says he's a good guy, so I guess we have to take it on faith. But even more unbelievable are the pairings of Mulroney and Danes, and then Wilson and SJP. Wilson is a laid back, pot smoking documentary filmmaker living in Berkeley, and we're supposed to buy him liking SJP's uptight, spoiled bitch character? You've got to be joking. There isn't a chance in hell, and Bezucha doesn't even come close to making it seem remotely plausible. It simply isn't possible that those two like each other, much less fall in love. And it pissed me off. Add to that, Mulroney and Danes suddenly fall madly in love. Why? Because she likes her job and told him a moving story? And then why the hell does she like him? What does he do that impresses her so much? Nothing that I could see. Again, not believable for a single second. When the bus stops and she got out, I nearly puked all over the place. Fucking lame. SJP is a heinous bitch from start to finish. She is only tolerable when drunk, and that isn't saying much, cause she was still pretty annoying. The writing is weak. Too many cliches and way too predictable. It gets too sappy at times. None of the characters are well developed, and no one is even all that likeable, save for Wilson. There are a few effective family scenes, but overall, this is a massive piece of shit. I really expected a lot more out of this movie. Avoid like the plague.

3/10
just wondering, why were you expecting to like this movie? i mean really, my first reaction when i saw you posted in this thread was "i bet this movie sucks and madsen's review about its suckiness is awesome since it looks like the kind of thing he'd KNOW sucks from the beginning". i mean, i thought from the poster that the movie might be good, but didnt the previews kinda scream 'piece of hollywood POOP'?

Btw, what were your fav movies this year? i havent seen much (i hvaent seen ANYTHING since batman, goddammit) and need some recommendations.

[MadsenOMC]

The trailer and TV spots never did much for me, but I like the cast a lot (save for SJP, who I'm not a fan of) and David Poland, someone I trust, has been raving about it for quite some time now. So while I didn't expect an instant classic that I'd fall passionately in love with, I did expect a pretty good movie. I definitely thought it would be much better than it is, and not simply Hollywood poop. My mistake.

[TheJadedGamer]

Looks like a decent comedy. Nothing special or anything...maybe a rent.

[moviegroupie]

3/10. this was pretty bad. I yawned out loud several times.

How it got even 55% on Rotten Tomatoes I will never know.

[thompsoncory]

9/10 (A)

Easily one of the year's best films. A hilarious and moving comedy with excellent performances across the board.

[ilovemovies]

I thought I would enjoy this movie but I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. This movie came as a welcome surprise and is COMPLETELY different that what the trailer makes it look like. It's so much more moving and poignant than the trailer makes it look. The whole cast is terrific. Everyone gives a pitch perfect performance. Not a weak link among them with Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker probably being the standouts. I've never been a terribly big fan of Parker's. From what little I've seen of it, Sex and the City is one of the most overrated shows I've ever seen. But Parker is perfect here. You can litterally feel how uncomfortable she is in the begining of the movie. And she is equally great when her character gradually becomes looser and starts opening up. The chemistry between her and Luke Wilson is really great. Equally great is the chemistry between Dermot Mulrony and Claire Danes. I really see how those characters really connected. The whole family dynamic is completely convincing. Craig T. Nelson is wonderful as the father. Rachel McAdams continues to develop her career well with another terrific performance. And the ending really touched me. This movie totally surprised me. It's definately one of the best films of the year!